The Energy Within
by Flyfree1346
Summary: Kisa is a twelve year old girl, striving to overthrow her leader to return her village to what it once was. To do this, she has to run away from home. Kisa arrives at the Leaf Village and decides to become a ninja to achieve her goal. Begins after first arc. No pairing (yet) Rated T for language, violence, etc.
1. Into the Unknown

**Author's Note:** First story! I hope you all enjoy this! I'm not sure if the characters are OOC (Out of Character) or not, so I apologize. I am also sorry if there are any typos or strange mistakes that I have made. Hehe...

**Date Posted:** November 11, 2013

**Word Count:** 2,828

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**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN NARUTO AND I NEEEVVEEER WILL! Sadly :(

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**Chapter 1: Into the Unknown**

"Kisa, come back here!" yelled my so-called father from behind me. I scrambled down the steps to the first floor, skipping every other step. I could hear the man cursing, and his heavy footsteps crashing onto the old wooden floorboards. They creaked, and groaned. For a moment, I imagined him falling through, all the way to the basement. It would defiantly hurt, and he probably deserved it.

It felt like it took forever to reach the ground floor. My heart was pounding in my chest, my breath coming out in harsh pants. My whole body was tense and trembling. I knew if I was caught, I would be given a punishment of a lifetime.

Finally, my shoes touched the bottom, and I sprinted through the narrow, dark, hallway before skidding into the kitchen to quickly grab the backpack I had prepared, and then continuing on my way to the door.

"YOU WILL NOT LEAVE THIS HOUSE, BRAT!" Dad roared.

I grinned to myself. Well, he couldn't stop me now, could he? He was probably at the top of the winding staircase, judging by his footsteps, and I was already at the door. He was also the worst runner of his generation, which meant I would have a good advantage.

I fumbled with the crazy locks and it took at least twice as long as usual to unlock them under such pressure. Finally, I was able to yank open the front door with all my might, and leap over the steps before taking off at my fastest pace.

I didn't bother to look back at the house I had lived in for the past twelve years of my life. There was nothing there left for me to care about. Any of my precious possessions were stored in my backpack.

I could feel a smile creep onto my face, as I rushed past the familiar blank streets of my village. There were only a few people out at this time, and it wasn't unusual to see a child running in the neighborhood. Even if they knew my true intentions, they probably wouldn't have minded. There were plenty of runaways that no one really cared about.

I was free, and that was all that mattered.

Well, that, and my survival. But I wasn't particularly worried about that part. I had survived in the wild with a number of supplies and no adult supervision for a month and a half when I was seven. It surely wouldn't be a problem for me, at age twelve.

I could see the gate in the far distance. Several guards were standing there, making sure that no intruders would come in the village. Not that anyone would really want to come in and steal from somewhere that had such a low reputation, population, and quality. We had absolute no extra food to share, so even if someone passed the gates, I doubted they would find much to make a fuss about.

I slowed my pace as I got closer to the large, iron gate. It once had the symbol of the village on it, or so the stories went, but that had been long replaced. The true reason was only known by the older generations, but they wouldn't say anything. This mystery always caused rumors, each more ridiculous than the last, to be spread around.

"Can I help you?" questioned a guard. They looked pretty bored, just sulking around until their shift was over. I kind of felt bad for them. Being part of the Millennium Guards was an honor (or rather, it was). There had been an Academy for the ones training to become part of the Guard. You would have to start by a certain age, and would devote your life to protect the village, just like the Great Five Nations. But that all died away when our leader passed away, and the meanest, most selfish bastard came to take his place.

Everything went downhill when the new leader arrived. We went from being a respected village to a poor, unnoticed place where no one wanted to be.

"I would like to be granted Outside, please," I responded formally. I saw a few of the guards turn their heads toward me and raise their eyebrows. It was dangerous to go Outside nowadays. It was probably especially shocking coming from such a young person like me. Usually, you were only granted permission if you were twenty five and older.

But my case was an emergency, and I needed to get out, fast, before Dad came around.

One guard came up and looked me in the eye. Molten amber against brilliant sapphire. I felt slightly intimidated, but if I showed fear in anyway, the wouldn't give me access to the Outside. I raised my chin, and stared back with defiance.

The guard looked away first, and nodded to his partners. The eyed him in suspicion, but turned and went to the gate anyway.

He looked back at me and stated, "I'll make an exception for you today. You're lucky I'm in a good mood. I can see the determination in your eyes, so I doubt I'd be able to stop you anyhow. But be careful, the Outside is filled with dangers that you've only heard about."

I nodded. I had known that from the start. It would be dangerous, I could even get killed in the first week. But it when it was up against living with my Father for the rest of my life, in a village that was so detached and lonely, I would pick the Outside over that any day.

The guard gave me a quick wink, before moving out of the way of the massive iron doors that parted slightly to give me just enough room to squeeze through. I gave a wave to the guards as a thanks, and then turned to the forest, which had just begun to bloom into the spring season.

The gate behind me slammed shut, and I knew I could never go back on my choice.

I sighed and began my long journey forward, into the unknown.

* * *

The first thing I did was search for a suitable place to stay for a night. It wasn't hard; there were tons of trees with large, secure branches. But the one I happened to choose was right next to a small, fresh-water creek.

Fortunately, it was close to a couple of berry bushes. I had studied vegetation in the Outside and had payed attention well enough so that I could recognize if the plants were edible or not. As long as the berries weren't unfamiliar to me, I would be fine eating them.

I was able to gather enough berries to fill my stomach for the evening as well as some extra, that I stored in my backpack.

As the sun set, lighting the whole sky a rainbow of colors, I leaned back on the thick tree trunk and closed my eyes. I wondered if I had become a Millennium Guard, would I have had more chances to get to see the Outside?

I wish I had an answer to that. But Keegan, our current Leader, ruined the chances of anyone from my generation becoming a Guard.

Why did I want to join the Guard? First of all, each and every one of them was respected for protecting the village. The majority of them were born with a unique ability. It was inherited from our ancestors, although it goes so far back that nobody really knew how it originated. But it allowed many members of the Guard to control energy.

It may sound impossible, but it was very normal for a child to be born with that kind of ability. Anyone who had it was offered to be trained in the Academy. It was a difficult process to be trained as a Guard, but despite the hardships, everyone wanted to become a Guard when they got older.

The details of how the ability (which was commonly called the "Power") were not released to the public, but the basic knowledge was that if you trained hard enough and had enough control over it, you could be able to manipulate energy however you wanted.

Depending on their natural affinity, Guards were sorted into groups. There were the members with an element affinity, which was either water, fire, wind, lightning, or earth. And there were others who were adapt with healing, strategizing, etc. They were usually put onto teams of three, with a sensei. In some exceptions, there were four students.

And then there were the most powerful members called "Millennium." The name came from the fact that they were very rare and only a few appeared every century. They would have two element affinities, as well a minimal healing ability. The difference between a Millennium, and a regular Guard was that a Millennium was able to absorb energy with a single touch. They could have their hand brush against an opponent's skin so lightly that they wouldn't even be able to feel it. Without the enemy knowing, a Millennium could suck out their entire life force, and once they realized what had happened, it would already be too late.

Which was the reason why my village was under attack so often. Keegan had been an enemy once. He was part of an organization that apparently had hated our village, and attempted to take out our whole Guard at once.

His plan was very strategic, but he didn't have the strength, nor the numbers to finish everyone off.

Keegan was locked up for years, until the Leader took pity, and allowed him to roam around the village, as long as there was a Guard watching him at all times. That choice was the Leader's downfall. Keegan became very popular among the simple villagers, and slowly he gained political power, and became the Leader's right handed man. Somehow, the Leader personally got involved in a battle that was supposedly not any of his business, and he was defeated.

Keegan was voted as the person to take his place. And the village fell from its once respected title to a forgotten town.

Keegan was someone who I had never liked in the first place. In addition to being deceptive, he would give off some sort of aura that would make me recoil in disgust.

My dream is to find one of the last Millennium Guards, and have them train me so that I could come back to the village and show people that if we fight back, Keegan can be replaced, and the village can become a respected place once more.

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When I woke up, it was dawn. The sun was high enough for me to see the area around me clearly, which alerted me to the fact that I had to begin traveling, unless I wanted to waste precious time.

I had a three choices: either go west to the Country of Wind; east to the Country of Fire, or north to the Country of Rain.

The Country of Wind didn't sound too appealing. I had heard rumors going around that the main village settled there had a leader who tried to kill his own son. I disliked unnecessary violence, and although I didn't know if that rumor was true, I didn't particularly want to risk it.

The Country of Rain was somewhere that I doubted I would be able to find someone who could train me. The Millennium Guards had a large rivalry with them, so there would be no point in traveling there, especially since the village was the farthest away.

Which only left the Country of Fire. Luckily, the village there, according to my research, seemed like a rather welcoming place.

Before leaving, I re-checked my backpack to make sure that everything was secure in there. The most important things were at the bottom, snuggled inside a secret pocket. It would be easy to find if someone was deliberately trying to search for absolutely everything in the pack, but it camouflaged well for people who's motive was to steal, and then disappear without a fight.

It was quite difficult to travel across the forest floor. Dead leaves crunched on the ground, and there were massive tree roots littered across the whole area. A few of them were too big to step or jump over, and I had to find another way to get across.

Despite all the problems, I was proud that I was able to progress pretty quickly. Once I got used to it, the forest kind of seemed like an obstacle course that I had to complete in a matter of days. I didn't know how long it would take to reach the village, but I knew that I had to cover as much distance as I could before I started to tire out, which would make the trip take even longer.

It was the morning of my third full day in the forest, when I noticed something odd. Something was out of place. I had only been in the woods for three days, but I was so used to the natural feel of the nature surrounding me, that I knew something was disrupting it.

Most likely, it was other people. Either that, or some sort of natural disaster, although there was not a cloud to be seen in the sky (hurricane/thunderstorm); and no steep cliffs (avalanche).

I decided to camp out in a random hole I found in a tree. It was luckily just large enough for me to crawl into. I couldn't do much about the opening, so I would have to rely on an assumption that the person (if it was a person) would not look too closely at the tree.

Hopefully, I was just overreacting, and it was nothing. But it was definitely better to be safe, than sorry in a situation like this. Although it's a bit cliché, it definitely was one of the most important rules for living in the wilderness.

It only took a minute or two until I could hear voices piercing the usual, quietness of the trees. They didn't sound familiar, so they weren't from my village (thankfully).

"K-kiba...I r-really d-on't th-think we should b-be out h-here with-thout Sensei," a soft, feminine voice spoke. From her stuttering, I inferred that she was either really scared, or shy.

"Nah," a confident voice replied. It was definitely a male. "We'll be fine. Kurenai-sensei left us here plenty of times already. I'm sure that it's safe."

"B-but..." protested the girl. There was a sudden bark. It sounded high-pitched, and young.

"See? Akamaru agrees. It's no big deal, anyway. It's not like we're going _that_ far out from the village," Kiba stated.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Apparently I really close to my destination. And these kids seemed like they were shinobi; ninja who protect their village at all costs. Exactly like my own village's Guards. Maybe they were a lead to my mission?

My mouth twitched downward. Well, I couldn't just pop out of the tree truck randomly, could I? They didn't seem like they had noticed me, and if I came out of my hiding place, they would probably drag me into the village for interrogation, or whatever happens to suspicious people taking shelter in the forest.

Of course, there was always the possibility where I would be granted citizenship...after they made sure I wasn't a spy. Yeah, I sure wouldn't be looking forward to that part.

But the decision was still hanging there: would I come out and introduce myself, or wait, and journey to the village myself, after they had left?

"Hey, you over there, hiding in the tree!" Kiba shouted. "You realize that I can smell you, right?"

I froze, my heart pounding faster. I guess the choice was already made for me.

I slowly crawled out of my lovely hiding place, and stood up, brushing off some of the dirt that had collected on the clothes I hadn't changed in three days. Grinning, I looked up at the defensive ninjas in front of me and introduced myself.

"Hi, my name is Kisa."

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**Author's Note:** Hey, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! It took me about a week to make (I know...I'm slow) so I apologize if my updates are not so quick. :) Until next time, then. Please favorite, follow or review! (or do all three!)


	2. A New Home?

**Note: **Thank you to those who have reviewed, followed, or favorited :). **frozen icewolf**, **MentallyEatingPastawithItaly**, **jorgiamk**, and **Randomness.** I apologize for the late update: I had meant to update last Friday, but I needed to finish that last paragraph, and I just didn't get to it until today. Completely sorry! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

**Date Posted:** November 26, 2013

**Word Count:** 2,505

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, the plot, or anything Naruto. However I do own this particular fan fiction, and my own characters.

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**Chapter 2: A New Home?**

They threw me right into a prison cell. It was nearly pitch black, with just the slit of the door allowing a tiny bit of light to seep in. It was so small, that there might as well have been nothing there.

Did they throw me in here because I looked threatening? With my dirty, ripped clothes, I doubted I looked like anyone dangerous. Excluding the fact that I had a few hidden kitchen knives stored in my backpack. But I needed them for a lot of reasons. Like how I probably would not have been able to survive very well without them.

I was angry. Not particularly at the two ninjas: Kiba and Hinata. Their actions had been understandable. But at myself for getting caught up in the mess. It might have been better to not go into hiding. Maybe staying outside would have gained their trust just a tad more.

I kind of doubted that one.

The cell wasn't all that bad. It was slightly smelly, and I had to sit on the hard metal, but it could have been a lot worse. The only thing that was bothering me was the shuffling of the guard I would hear it occasionally, but it got on my nerves. Especially when I had tried to make conversation. It was like I was talking to a wall. No response, whatsoever. Apparently they were taught not to chat with the people they were guarding.

I finally got a little too stiff just sitting there, and decided to pace around. Eventually, that got boring, and I was jogging in my cell. I could definitely benefit from a little extra exercise.

I was on lap thirty two, when I noticed something strange. It was like I could sense a presence inside the cell with me.

I stopped my jogging, and listened carefully. There was a slight noise, possibly the exhale of a breath, coming from the darkest corner of the room.

If it wasn't in a prison cell, I most likely would have blushed in embarrassment. The person there, whoever it was, probably thought I was crazy. Who else would jog laps out of sheer boredom?

"Hello?" I called out carefully.

Suddenly, a light, positioned directly in the middle of the cell turned on, as if the cue was called. Someone, who I definitely did not recognize stepped forward. It was a man, wearing some sort of mask that covered his nose and mouth. His headband was covering his left eye, and he had on a navy blue shirt with a vine green vest with multiple pockets over it.

From what I could tell, he looked pretty lazy. His posture was slumped, and he had his arms crossed, as if he had never wanted to sign up for such a tedious job.

But coming from a village, who always had to watch their backs, I knew that he just had the appearance of a lazy guy. The headband clearly indicated that he was a ninja, and he probably was a pretty darn good one.

"Erm...were you there the whole time?" I questioned, a bit sheepishly. I could just imagine him standing there, watching me. I had to hold back a shudder. That would be rather creepy.

The man's mask prevented me from seeing any obvious facial expression, but I could just feel the amusement radiating from him. "Ah, no. Unfortunately, I was busy with some other business. I apologize for the delay."

My eyebrow twitched. "Delay?" I asked, irritated. "You were three hours late!"

He scratched the back of his head, sheepishly. "That's a bit of an exaggeration."

"How the hell am I supposed to tell time in this damned room?"

"Language."

"You're not my parent!"

"It's still not very polite."

"Are you just trying to piss me off?!"

The man sighed, and shifted his weight to the opposite leg. "Let's just get to the point. I'm here to ask you some questions. You can answer truthfully, or we will have to resort to some...less kind methods."

I huffed, and looked away, still a bit annoyed at him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get on with it."

"Well, we can start with something simple. Your name?"

I grumbled. "Kisa. Kisa Wakahisa."

* * *

The whole interview thing took less than an hour. I answered all the questions to the best of my ability (although I tried giving out the least background information as I could) and was thankfully ushered out of that dark prison when it was done.

One thing that I learned was that the man's name was Kakashi Hatake, and apparently, he had a dangerous reputation under the name "Copy Cat Ninja". Not that I had any idea what that meant.

Kakashi took me to the Hokage's office, so that he could relay the information he gained from questioning me to his leader. Then I would either be officially a citizen of the village, or kicked out into the wilderness again. I hoped it was the former.

When we entered the office, the Hokage, Lady Tsunade, was sitting at a rather fancy desk, with masked guards, standing on either side of her. She didn't appear very excited.

As soon as we stepped in, she looked up and snorted. "This is the brat, I suppose," she greeted harshly. I was kind of shocked by her attitude. I glanced at Kakashi, but his expression was neutral. I wondered if it was how she always acted.

Kakashi moved forward and began to report what he had found out. It was kind of awkward to listen to a rather accurate description of myself, as if I wasn't there.

Once Kakashi finished, he stepped back. The Hokage ran her eyes over me for a moment, studying. I stood still, nervous. If I didn't receive her approval, I would be seriously screwed.

There was a moment of tense silence.

"She can stay," she eventually decided. I let out a breath of relief.

Lady Tsunade turned towards me. "I'm assigning you to an apartment near the Academy. If I hear about any mischief, you're out. Understand?"

I nodded quickly. I couldn't afford to risk it. It was the chance I was looking for, and I would be damned if I didn't take it.

"Kakashi, take the brat to the building. Make sure she knows where she's going. I'd rather not get a reported case of a lost citizen. I have enough paperwork to do already," she grumbled. "Dismissed!"

We bowed and quickly exited.

Once we were a good few blocks away, I couldn't hold in my question any longer. "Is she always that scary?"

Kakashi chuckled in amusement. "Most of the time. You'll get used to eventually."

My lip twitched downward. Then why was she chosen as Hokage? All I could see was a bad-tempered woman.

We walked for a while in silence. As we passed a food market, a pink haired girl, a little older than my twelve years, waved.

"Kakashi-sensei! I haven't seen you come around often. Busy?" she greeted, hefting the heavy grocery bags high enough so that they wouldn't drag against the ground.

The silver haired man nodded, and although the mask covered a large portion of his face, I could still detect a note of embarrassment in his expression. "I apologize for not being able to see you often. How's your training going?"

The girl grinned. "It's amazing! I'm learning so much. I never thought that becoming a medical ninja would be so fascinating!" She paused, and turned her head towards me, as if just noticing that someone else was standing there. "And who are you?"

The question was not unkind, but it made me feel kind of uneasy for some reason.

"I'm Kisa," I replied, a bit stiffly.

"Hello! I'm Sakura. I used to be Kakashi-sensei's student," she said happily.

Not knowing how to respond, I just nodded.

The girl, Sakura, looked back at Kakashi. "I have to go, but it was nice to see you again!" She shifted the bags to the opposite hand and turned, walking the way we came.

* * *

My apartment was not in the best condition. In fact, it looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Kakashi, being the kind person he is, ditched me immediately after a quick peak. Apparently he disliked cleaning. A lot. Not that I liked cleaning any more than him, but it was necessary, if I wanted an apartment that wasn't covered in filth.

I decided to get to work immediately. Procrastinating until I could barely breathe through the dust did not seem like a good idea. Besides, I didn't want to sleep in such a place without cleaning something.

A few hours in, I wondered if Tsunade had purposely gave me this particular apartment. There was tons and tons and tons of dust everywhere! It would take me days to get it all done.

I glared at the annoying dust bunnies under the empty dresser. "I wish you would all just disappear! Why can't you go and find a new home or something? Damn it! Aren't apartments supposed to be_ cleaned_ before you move in!?"

Of course, I had to spend the whole day choking dust. The only good thing that came out of it was that my whole bedroom was clear, and I could actually sleep comfortably.

That night I had a small dinner consisting of a random packet of ramen that I found in a cupboard. I would have considered eating the berries I had picked, but I had never gotten my backpack back. The only thing I had on me from home was my ragged clothes—I really needed to go shopping—and my necklace that had been passed down from my grandmother, to my mother, and then to me.

It was also the only thing I had of my mom to remember. I didn't really remember much—she left the house when I was merely three. But I do remember that she was kind, but almost always got into fights with Dad. I had always assumed that my father was the reason for Mom's absence. As I grew older, I had a bitter resentment against my father. He was never home, and whenever he came home, he just wanted me to care for him. As if I was his caretaker, and not his daughter.

Dad would treat me well anytime he was in front of other people. He actually would pretend to spoil me, which was the complete opposite from what I had always experienced at home.

Eventually, he disappeared for longer and longer. It would be weeks before I would even hear of him. One time, he was gone for three full months. I didn't know what he was really doing then, but I had finally been through enough. That was when I decided that I was going to run away.

I just want to get away from Dad's behavior, and to find a place that was not so...depressing. What could I ever achieve in a place that had no expectations to begin with?

My solution was to run. And the outcome was to arrive here.

It was the right choice.

* * *

The next day, I woke up early so that I could clean some more, and then go out and get myself a new set of clothes. I still had some money that I hid in my pocket. Either the people who checked me didn't find it, or decided to let me keep it. Probably the latter. After all, you couldn't really harm someone with money, unless you threw it at them. And even then, it wouldn't be deathly dangerous.

It took a surprisingly short amount of time to sweep and clean the remaining dirt in the apartment, giving me more time to pick out a good set of clothes. I wanted to get a job as soon as possible, and for that, I needed to appear a heck more professional. Especially because I was so young. No one would want to employ a twelve year old ratty-looking girl. I would look like a beggar, or something.

I showered, making sure I scrubbed out all soil and leaves stuck in my hair. It drooped down; stick-straight, pitch black; for the first time in approximately five days. The sharp sting from the small cuts I gained from the ragged bark on the trees surprised me. I hadn't noticed them during my trek in the forest.

I scrubbed my old clothes, and waited until they were dry. A hidden door that I had overlooked lead to a porch. It was the only place that was actually kind of clean.

I sat for a while, enjoying the breeze, and watching people walk past on the street. When it was a little after noon, I decided to go out to buy the new clothes I so desperately needed.

A little while later, I walked out of a store with a large bag of nice, fresh clothes. Most of them were casual; shorts, a t-shirt; but I also bought a dress. I was never fond of skirts or dresses, but they were a good article of clothing for making an impression.

I went back to my apartment, and put on my new dress, adding a touch of eyeliner and mascara to complete the look. I glanced into the little, cheap mirror, watching as the strikingly familiar golden eyes stared back. My raven hair just added to the 'standing out' effect.

I stared at my reflection for a while, and then grinned at myself. Perfect.

I exited the building, and made my way down the unfamiliar streets. The other villagers bustled around me, entering and leaving restaurants, chatting with their friends. It was busy, but the whole village carried a sort of comfortable aura, something that was easy to enjoy.

_Well, Kisa_, I thought to myself, _welcome to your new home._

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**End Note: **I hope you liked this chapter :). I feel as though this chapter is not as good as the first. *sigh*. I will be getting into more action later on, and Kisa will eventually become a ninja...if that doesn't sound too cliche... I apologize for any typos or incorrect language. FF&R! (Favorite, Follow, and Review!) Until next time!


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